Hairbrush cleaner



Oct. 7, 1969 K. a. LARSON ET AL 3,470,575

HAIRBRUSB CLEANER Filed May 13, 1968 INVENTORS KENNETH E LARSON,

I4RL F GoRooN AGE/VT United States Patent US. Cl. 15-38 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A rotary brush comprising a relatively thin, generally flat head of rectangular profile mounted on the shaft of a hand-held motor. The shaft extends along one axis of the rectangle. A line of thin bristle-like members is fixed to each of the side edges of the head and projects radially therefrom. The flat head functions as a blower impeller, thereby throwing air outwardly by centrifugal force along the length of the bristle-like members, to blow loose hairs endwise from the bristles and prevent hair from wrapping around the head.

Background of the invention The present invention pertains to rotary brushes, particularly for use in cleaning conventional hair brushes, although not necessarily limited to such service.

In beauty shops and other establishments where hair brushes are used constantly all day long, and where a clean brush must be used on each patron, cleaning such brushes at the end of each day becomes a major problem. A hairbrush is inherently subject to the objectionable feature of collecting tangled and matted accumulations of hair throughout the bristles, and these must be completely removed prior to sterilizing the brush. In most establishments, this is done at the close of each day, usually with the aid of a comb or other implement. After combing and picking the hair out of the bristles, it is necessary to brush out loose dandruff and other soil that may accumulate at the base of the bristle on the hairbrush. Altogether, it is a disagreeable and time-consuming job, which is heartily disliked by all beauticians, hair stylists, barbers, and the like, who use hairbrushes in the practice of their profes- SIOII.

There have been numerous attempts to overcome this problem by providing power-driven hair brush cleaners which are, in essence, rotary brushes against which the bristles of a hairbrush are pressed. While these rotary brushes are elfective enough for cleaning a hairbrush, they usually end up by quickly accumulating a tangled mass of hair in their own bristles. Thus, what has happened is that the hair has merely been transferred from one brush (the hairbrush) to another (the brush cleaner), and it now becomes necessary to comb and pick the hairs out of the bristles of the brush cleaner.

Summary of the invention The primary object of this invention is to provide a hairbrush cleaner which is so constructed and arranged that it does not accumulate hair removed from other brushes, and therefore does not need to be cleaned at frequent intervals.

Another object of the invention is to provide a handheld, motor-driven rotary brush cleaner which may be used for cleaning hairbrushes or for other service, in which the construction of the head is such that currents of air are generated that sweep loose hairs, dandruff, and other soil particles radially outward from the base of the bristles to the tip ends thereof. This makes the brush selfcleaning, and prevents long hairs from wrapping around the brush head.

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A further object of the invention is to provide a rotary brush of the class described, in which the head and bristles are molded integrally of flexible, resilient elastomer, each of the said bristles being in the form of a long, slender finger which is relatively supple and not apt to damage a hairbrush or anything else with which it might come in contact.

Description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a perspective View, showing the invention being used to clean a hairbrush;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the head of the unit, showing the manner in which the fingers reach down into the spaces between the rows of bristles on the hairbrush; and

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the head shown in FIG- URE 2.

Description of the preferred embodiment The rotary hairbrush cleaner of our invention is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 10, and comprises a hand-held electric motor contained within a cylindrical casing 12, having an on-off switch 14 near one end thereof. Projecting axially from one end of the casing 12 is a tubular drive shaft 16 having a chuck to receive the spindle 18 of a brush head 20.

The brush head 20 is preferably molded in one piece of flexible, resilient elastomer such as polyvinyl chloride, for example, and is a relatively thin, generally flat body of rectangular profile. As shown in FIGURE 3, the thickness of the head 20 is only about one and one-half times the diameter of the spindle 18, whereas the Width of the head is of the order of ten times the diameter of the spindle. Thus, the head 20 is about 67 times as wide as it is thick, giving it a paddle-like appearance. The opposite sides of the head 20 are preferably rounded slightly, as shown, so that the thickness tapers down from its maximum at the midpoint of the head, to about half that thickness at the laterally outer edges 22, 22 of the head. The spindle 18 is molded into the head 20 and extends centrally through the same along one of the axes of the rectangle. In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the head 20 is slightly longer than it is wide, and therefore the spindle 18 is on the major axis of the rectangle.

For use as a hairbrush cleaner, the head 20 is made a little longer than the overall width of the average hairbrush, an example of which is shown at 24. However, the rotary brush might also be used as a hairbrush or as a pet brush, in which case the length and width dimensions might vary considerably.

Projecting radially from each of the side edges 22, 22' is a line of bristle-like members 26, which are molded integrally with the head. Each of the members 26 is in the form of a long, slender finger, which tapers down in thickness from base to tip. The fingers 26 are spaced apart from one another approximately the distance between the rows of bristle on the hairbrush 24, so that the fingers can reach down between the rows of bristles, as shown in FIGURE 2. Preferably, the fingers 26 of side 22 are offset from the fingers of side 22, so that the fingers cover the entire width of the brush.

The fingers 26 are relatively supple, and bend readily whenever they encounter an unyielding object. However, they tend to straighten out by centrifugal force and become relatively stiffer at high speed than when standing still. Thus, at high speed, the fingers 26 flail through the bristles 28 of the hairbrush, picking up hairs that are tangled among the bristles and throwing said hairs outwardly and away from the operator.

The paddle-like configuration of the head 20 functions in the same manner as a blower impeller, throwing air out wardly by centrifugal force. The outwardly-thrown air travels along the length of the fingers 26, carrying any hair or dandruff particles along with it, so that the head is effectively self-cleaning. Moreover, the outwardly-moving draft of air prevents hair from wrapping around the head 20, and the fiat, paddle-like shape of the head also resists such wrapping.

Although the invention is believed to have particular utility as a hairbrush cleaner, it has also been found to be useful as a hair brush, and as a pet brush. In both cases, the soft supple fingers 26 work through tangled or matted hair to produce an effective brushing job with little or no manual effort. Also, the rapid, yet gentle beating of the fingers 26 against the scalp have a pleasurable and stimulating effect, somewhat comparable to hundreds of brushing strokes with an ordinary hairbrush.

We claim:

1. A rotary brush comprising a hand-held motor having a drive shaft projecting from one end thereof;

a relatively thin, generally flat head of rectangular profile mounted on the outer end of said shaft to rotate therewith, said shaft extending along one axis of the rectangle midway between the side edges thereof; and

a line of thin, flexible bristle-like members fixed to each of said side-edges and projecting radially outward therefrom;

said bristle-like members being in the form of long, slender fingers of flexible, resilient elastomer, each of said fingers being attached at one end to one of said side edges of said head; and

said head being of a width to function as a blower impeller, throwing air outwardly by centrifugal force along the length of said bristle-like members, thereby blowing loose hairs, dandruff and the like endwise from the bristle-like members and preventing hairs from wrapping around said head.

2. A rotary brush as in claim 1, for cleaning conventional hairbrushes, wherein said head is substantially as long as the width of the average hairbrush; and said bristle-like members are spaced apart along said side edges so as to pass between the rows of bristles on the said hairbrush.

3. A rotary brush as in claim 2, wherein said head is molded of flexible, resilient elastomer, and said bristlelike members are in the form of long, slender, fingers of the same material molded integrally with said head, said fingers being relatively supple, and tending to straighten out by centrifugal force, so as to become relatively stiffer when turning at high speed than when standing still.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 848,974 4/1907 Crossman 15383 X 2,334,690 11/1943 Yden 152l1 2,663,041 12/1953 Reade 15-230 2,858,703 11/1958 Willcox.

3,015,121 1/1962 Ulrich 15-383 X 3,080,591 3/1963 Townsend 15--4 X 3,204,469 9/ 1965 Spillers 15--22 X 3,348,253 10/1967 McCoy 10-67 WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner LEON G. MACHLIN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. l5-l88 

